Jrvan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2020
- Messages
- 2,006
Let me start off by saying that I don't have much money. And yet, compared to people who make thousands and thousands of dollars more, I'm able to not only cover my basic needs, but also buy things that I want more often than people who make more. Why is that?
It all has to do with expenses. I have long adopted a very minimalist lifestyle, and I get a lot of my inspiration from the Japanese. By minimizing the total expenses, the amount of money that is able to be put into savings increases greatly.
So what are some ways you can limit expenses?
First, look at the utilities. One very common thing people do is they leave lights on. This makes the electric bill higher than it could be. Get in the habit of turning lights off when you're not using them.
Then there's the water bill. Set a timer when you take a shower, and try to get clean before the timer goes off. Invest in a dishwasher to improve efficiency (also can save on soap).
Gasoline. There's no easy way here because many people need to have an automobile. However, one thing you can do, is to invest in a bicycle which you ride for non-work outings and short distance travel, easy errands, etc... With the price of gas right now, this alone might end up saving you the most money.
Find alternatives to disposable items. Plastic menstrual pads are a modern scam for example. Most women simply aren't aware of alternatives. You save so much money by washing and reusing cloth pads. The ones I get for Tabby are made of linen, and she said she never wants to go back to plastic store products. The same thing can be done with things like paper towels and toilet paper, tissues, and so on. You can use a bidet for the toilet, and instead of toilet paper you can have a pile of square cloths which can go in the laundry basket after. The cloths are just to dry the water off. In the kitchen you can have cloth towels instead of paper towels, which is what they used before paper towels. Instead of tissues, piles of handkerchiefs can be placed around the house. Use one and throw it in the laundry basket for washing.
When you buy things like clothing, shoes, etc... invest in more expensive products that will last longer. Go against planned obsolescence in every capacity that you are able to. If you don't know what planned obsolescence is, it's a feature of the market where products are deliberately designed to break down sooner than they should so that customers are forced to make repeat purchases more often. You can get around this by purchasing from small business crafters. Buy clothing made from better materials. Avoid polyester completely unless it's for harsh winters. Stick with mostly linen, wool, and leather which are all the most traditional materials. Proper FULL GRAIN leather products. Never buy "genuine" leather which is just a deception. All leather is "genuine" and leather items with "genuine" in the label are of the poorest, cheapest quality. Buy only top grain leather, or full grain leather items. Linen in the summer, wool in the winter. Cotton is... okay. But it's inferior to linen, and linen will just make you feel great.
Don't buy fast food. Go on the internet, look up your favorite foods to eat and find recipes for them, and take a notepad and write down all of the ingredients. Bookmark the page, and then go to the grocery market and buy everything you need on the ingredients list. Go back home, get out your cookware, and follow the cooking instructions on the website that you got the recipe from. Practice making these. Pick a favorite soup recipe, a favorite salad recipe, some yummy pasta recipes, grilled fish, snacks, home made bread, whatever you want. Everyone should know how to make simple things like pasta salad, rice stir fry, guacamole and chips, baked potatoes, and so on. Cooking home cooked meals, especially complex meals that you can store in containers for leftovers, will save you so much money. All you need is to stop being intimidated by cooking. Take out your pot, fill it with water, put it on the stove to boil, and start adding things. It's not hard. Get the cutting board and the chef's knife and chop the vegetables that you need. Learn to saute in a pan. Find out which herbs, spices, and seasonings go with different kinds of foods. Salt is your best friend.
Cut out expenses that you don't need. Sometimes people pay for things that they just don't use or even need. Magazine subscriptions, gym membership that you don't use (otherwise you should just start using it), bottled water (get a water dispenser and a reusable water bottle instead), netflix (you don't need it...), and probably a lot of other things that I'm not aware of.
This is a start so you can have an idea. The idea is to improve your habits to create a more perfected and efficient cycle of existence. Everything is getting closer and closer to perfection as is possible. A lot of it might not seem like a big deal, but it adds up. Some of it might even seem counterintuitive at first to those who are used to consumer culture. It might seem daunting to someone in that mindset to buy a pair of high quality leather shoes for hundreds of dollars as opposed to a cheap pair for a hundred or less that might last anywhere between a few months to a few years if lucky. The high quality leather footwear might last 10 to even 15 years by contrast, sometimes even longer. The less often you have to replace things, the better. Spend a little more now for things that are built to last, and it will save you money overall. You can also repair your clothing and footwear instead of throwing them away if you want to make them last even longer.
Question the things you were brought up with. If you're curious for even a moment if something might have a better alternative then look into it. Look into how people lived before the industrial revolution (but after the dark ages and the rediscovery of sanitation...) as well as in ancient civilizations for a lot of clues. Aside from chamber pots, urinary mouthwash, and lack of robots for automated chores like laundry, cooking, and so on... they weren't stupid. There are living solutions from the past that are superior to modern ones, and they allow an individual to be a little less chained to the marketplace. Trade is necessary and important for humans, and we all survive together through trade, but there is too much modern dependence where there shouldn't be. A lot of alternative things like these are also better for the environment.
It all has to do with expenses. I have long adopted a very minimalist lifestyle, and I get a lot of my inspiration from the Japanese. By minimizing the total expenses, the amount of money that is able to be put into savings increases greatly.
So what are some ways you can limit expenses?
First, look at the utilities. One very common thing people do is they leave lights on. This makes the electric bill higher than it could be. Get in the habit of turning lights off when you're not using them.
Then there's the water bill. Set a timer when you take a shower, and try to get clean before the timer goes off. Invest in a dishwasher to improve efficiency (also can save on soap).
Gasoline. There's no easy way here because many people need to have an automobile. However, one thing you can do, is to invest in a bicycle which you ride for non-work outings and short distance travel, easy errands, etc... With the price of gas right now, this alone might end up saving you the most money.
Find alternatives to disposable items. Plastic menstrual pads are a modern scam for example. Most women simply aren't aware of alternatives. You save so much money by washing and reusing cloth pads. The ones I get for Tabby are made of linen, and she said she never wants to go back to plastic store products. The same thing can be done with things like paper towels and toilet paper, tissues, and so on. You can use a bidet for the toilet, and instead of toilet paper you can have a pile of square cloths which can go in the laundry basket after. The cloths are just to dry the water off. In the kitchen you can have cloth towels instead of paper towels, which is what they used before paper towels. Instead of tissues, piles of handkerchiefs can be placed around the house. Use one and throw it in the laundry basket for washing.
When you buy things like clothing, shoes, etc... invest in more expensive products that will last longer. Go against planned obsolescence in every capacity that you are able to. If you don't know what planned obsolescence is, it's a feature of the market where products are deliberately designed to break down sooner than they should so that customers are forced to make repeat purchases more often. You can get around this by purchasing from small business crafters. Buy clothing made from better materials. Avoid polyester completely unless it's for harsh winters. Stick with mostly linen, wool, and leather which are all the most traditional materials. Proper FULL GRAIN leather products. Never buy "genuine" leather which is just a deception. All leather is "genuine" and leather items with "genuine" in the label are of the poorest, cheapest quality. Buy only top grain leather, or full grain leather items. Linen in the summer, wool in the winter. Cotton is... okay. But it's inferior to linen, and linen will just make you feel great.
Don't buy fast food. Go on the internet, look up your favorite foods to eat and find recipes for them, and take a notepad and write down all of the ingredients. Bookmark the page, and then go to the grocery market and buy everything you need on the ingredients list. Go back home, get out your cookware, and follow the cooking instructions on the website that you got the recipe from. Practice making these. Pick a favorite soup recipe, a favorite salad recipe, some yummy pasta recipes, grilled fish, snacks, home made bread, whatever you want. Everyone should know how to make simple things like pasta salad, rice stir fry, guacamole and chips, baked potatoes, and so on. Cooking home cooked meals, especially complex meals that you can store in containers for leftovers, will save you so much money. All you need is to stop being intimidated by cooking. Take out your pot, fill it with water, put it on the stove to boil, and start adding things. It's not hard. Get the cutting board and the chef's knife and chop the vegetables that you need. Learn to saute in a pan. Find out which herbs, spices, and seasonings go with different kinds of foods. Salt is your best friend.
Cut out expenses that you don't need. Sometimes people pay for things that they just don't use or even need. Magazine subscriptions, gym membership that you don't use (otherwise you should just start using it), bottled water (get a water dispenser and a reusable water bottle instead), netflix (you don't need it...), and probably a lot of other things that I'm not aware of.
This is a start so you can have an idea. The idea is to improve your habits to create a more perfected and efficient cycle of existence. Everything is getting closer and closer to perfection as is possible. A lot of it might not seem like a big deal, but it adds up. Some of it might even seem counterintuitive at first to those who are used to consumer culture. It might seem daunting to someone in that mindset to buy a pair of high quality leather shoes for hundreds of dollars as opposed to a cheap pair for a hundred or less that might last anywhere between a few months to a few years if lucky. The high quality leather footwear might last 10 to even 15 years by contrast, sometimes even longer. The less often you have to replace things, the better. Spend a little more now for things that are built to last, and it will save you money overall. You can also repair your clothing and footwear instead of throwing them away if you want to make them last even longer.
Question the things you were brought up with. If you're curious for even a moment if something might have a better alternative then look into it. Look into how people lived before the industrial revolution (but after the dark ages and the rediscovery of sanitation...) as well as in ancient civilizations for a lot of clues. Aside from chamber pots, urinary mouthwash, and lack of robots for automated chores like laundry, cooking, and so on... they weren't stupid. There are living solutions from the past that are superior to modern ones, and they allow an individual to be a little less chained to the marketplace. Trade is necessary and important for humans, and we all survive together through trade, but there is too much modern dependence where there shouldn't be. A lot of alternative things like these are also better for the environment.
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